The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards night was marked by a political statement made by the songstress Lizzo. She used her winner’s speech to claim that laws in the U.S. were “oppressing us.” Lizzo, 34, won in several categories at the awards, with one being Video for Good for her hit About Damn Time.
The “Good as Hell” singer admitted she didn’t know what the “music video for good” award meant. But she said that she was grateful for the votes of her fans who helped her win the trophy. “B****! Thank you so much, thank you to Christian [Breslauer], who directed the video, Kenny. I don’t know what Music Video for Good means, but I do know what your vote means, and that’s a f***ing lot,” Lizzo said.
The singer also took the chance to talk about how powerful even a single vote can be. While calling on her fans to vote, she said: “Your vote means everything to me, it means everything to making a change in this country. So remember, when you’re voting for your favorite artist, vote to change some of these laws that are oppressing us,” reported Fox News.
Although the “Truth Hurts” musician didn’t directly address a recent interview given by Aries Spears, a comedian who made remarks about her body. She instead addressed the critics in general. “And now, to the b****es that got something to say about me in this dress — You know what? I’m not going to say nothing. They be like ‘Lizzo, why don’t you clap back? Why don’t you clap back?’ Because b**** this is winning ho!”
In the interview given by Spears, he fat-shamed Lizzo by commenting about her body, saying “She’s got a very pretty face, but she keeps showing her body off.” He continued on to say that she was a “contradiction” to the women who supported her words. Seemingly not satisfied with these remarks, Spears added even more fuel to the fire during the sit-down on The Art of the Dialogue, saying “Sister, put the éclair down. This ain’t it. It’s treadmill time.”
Some Twitter users were quick to criticize Lizzo on the platform, saying she didn’t name any oppressive laws because “there weren’t any” and claiming she was “far from oppressed.”
“So oppressed she’s a multimillionaire and famous. Try traveling to some other countries around the world if you want to know what oppression really is. These speeches out of Hollywood are always some of the worst,” wrote one Twitter user.
The singer, songwriter, and rapper has a net worth of $12 million, and rose to stardom with her 2019 album “Cuz I Love You”, with hit singles “Juice,” “Tempo,” and “Truth Hurts.” At the VMAs, she performed some of her hits from her fourth studio album, “Special,” which she spent three years making after the overwhelming success of her previous album.
The “Tempo” performer donned a black Jean Paul Gaultier Couture gown with fabric bunched across her chest, which draped down into a dramatic train.
Photo: cropped, Cosmopolitan UK, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons